Block Party

As summer progresses, Philadelphia neighborhoods, from Southeast to Northeast, will be rocking their block in a city abuzz with cordoned-off streets, smoky barbecue grills, tinny speakers blaring loud music, and opened fire hydrants. "That's what makes a classic Philly block party," says Wes Pentz, known these days as Diplo, the internationally renowned DJ/producer who made his bones living in this city's Loft District and started his world-famous touring Mad Decent Block Party modestly enough on North 12th Street in 2008.

Friday wasn't just a day to celebrate the start of the Labor Day weekend. It was also Grandparents Day, as the Senior Citizens Association in Bensalem held a block party and open house. There were prizes, food and entertainment, as well as clowns and face painting to provide amusement.

A playoff block party is scheduled for 4 p.m. today outside the AT&T Pavilion on the 11th Street side of the Wachovia Center in advance of the Stanley Cup finals. Doors to the arena will open at 6 p.m. Game time is 8 p.m. Fans are encouraged to arrive early. The Phillies host the San Diego Padres at Citizens Bank Park at 7:05 p.m. On the air An hourlong edition of "Flyers Pregame Live" will air on the Comcast Network, beginning at 7 p.m. The Phillies game will air on Comcast SportsNet.

For the last 12 years, the residents of the dead-end section of Dickinson Avenue in Swarthmore have held an annual block party in the turnaround at the end of the street. This year's event is scheduled for Sunday at 4:30 in the afternoon. If things run true to form, the weather will be hot and sticky, and the party will start slow. The big plastic garbage cans often show up first. They're followed by a grill of coals for the hot dogs and hamburgers, a cooler of ice and soda, another of ice and beer.

You don't have to be Latino to enjoy two high-energy Puerto Rican Festival Week events this weekend. But it will help if you like to dance. Three full orchestras and six supporting acts - all local talent - will gather tomorrow at an all-day block party (from noon to 9 p.m.) to help dedicate the new home of the Latin American Musicians Association (called AMLA after its Spanish initials), at Fifth and Somerset Streets. The bands at tomorrow's party include the brassy salsa orchestras Salseate (Salsa You)

Here is an excerpt from Craig LaBan's online chat: Craig LaBan: We had an awesome block party Saturday with a long table of great pot-luck eats. My contribution was aglio-olio with zucchini laces, toasted garlic chips, and ricotta salata. And because the produce was so darn irresistible at the Rittenhouse farm market, I followed a day later with my favorite quick tomato sauce: cook a pint (or two) of halved yellow and red cherry tomatoes down fast and hard in EVOO and golden garlic, for about as long as it takes to boil the pasta.

Temple blocked 13 Florida State shots at the Leon County Civic Center, tying an 11-year-old school record. Sophomore center Kevin Lyde had eight of them, which was four more than his previous career high. It was only two off the school record set twice (both times against Penn State) by Duane Causwell a decade ago. Senior Lamont Barnes had four, which gives him 13 in three games. These are good things, no? Well, not to the only guy whose opinion really counts. The way John Chaney reacted last night, you might have thought his team had just tied a school best for airballs, behind-the-back passes or bargain-basement neckties.

The Houston Rockets reached down for something extra Tuesday night as Akeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson reached up and swatted 11 of the Los Angeles Lakers' shots between them. All told, the Rockets returned 12 L.A. shots to sender. A dirty dozen. And with Houston's 112-102 victory in Los Angeles, the NBA's Western Conference finals are deadlocked at 1-1, with Game 3 scheduled for tomorrow night here at the Summit. "I would beat one of their big men, and the other one would come over and block my shot," the Lakers' Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said.

"Daily News Live" on Comcast SportsNet will be broadcast at 5 p.m. today from the AT&T Pavilion at the Wachovia Center in advance of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final. Host Michael Barkann will be joined by Daily News columnist Rich Hofmann and Flyers beat writer Ed Moran as well as a Flyers player and broadcasters Bill Clement and Steve Coates. The show is part of the block party that begins at 4 p.m. inside and on the 11th Street side of the arena. The block party features live music, food, interactive games and celebrity appearances.

A great Philadelphia institution - the block party - is having a resurgence this summer. There are signs of a block party revival all over the city, from the traditional bingo and cotton candy fests in South Philadelphia and Overbrook, to upscale restaurant shindigs in Center City. They are also becoming more common in quasi-suburban Northeast Philadelphia. The city has issued 642 block party permits so far this year, up about 25 percent from 1985, according to Barbara Kirgan, the Streets Department official who handles the permits.

WHEN 200 re-enactors fight the 1777 Battle of Germantown on Saturday, Alex DiCesare, 20, will be firing his musket on the front lines while pondering the mystique of enemy British troops. "The British usually get all the hot women as camp followers," DiCesare confided to the Daily News . "Their girls are eating salt pork and split-pea soup, yet they look like supermodels. I've never seen girls wear chemises like that. "I can't wrap my head around it," DiCesare said drily.

There were several things to be gleaned from Saturday's Radio 104.5 Block Party on Festival Pier. While most have to do with the evolution of its headliner (Grouplove), the might of an up-and-comer (Vance Joy), and the unified synth sound of its other acts (Brick + Mortar, Wolf Gang, Sir Sly), you couldn't ignore the rain. The tween-plus crowd didn't mind getting soaked, especially since the storm broke by late afternoon. As for the newly refurbished, beach-y Festival Pier, the sand-on-asphalt showcase - when rained upon - created a gooey muck that kids loved and adults in suit pants and pricey loafers didn't.

Homicide detectives were searching Sunday for a motive in the killings of two women found shot to death in a house in Holmesburg Saturday. The women, identified by neighbors and relatives as Dollie Evans, 67, and Ruby Thomas, 59, were shot in the head inside Evans' home on the 4700 block of Vista Street. Thomas, who had been living with Evans for about two months, according to neighbors, was found with a gunshot wound to the head on a living room couch, police said. Evans, they said, was found on the floor of a second-floor bedroom, shot in the back of the head.

As summer progresses, Philadelphia neighborhoods, from Southeast to Northeast, will be rocking their block in a city abuzz with cordoned-off streets, smoky barbecue grills, tinny speakers blaring loud music, and opened fire hydrants. "That's what makes a classic Philly block party," says Wes Pentz, known these days as Diplo, the internationally renowned DJ/producer who made his bones living in this city's Loft District and started his world-famous touring Mad Decent Block Party modestly enough on North 12th Street in 2008.

Two alleged gunmen remained hospitalized Monday after a weekend confrontation with police during a North Philadelphia block party, police said. According to police, two officers heard gunshots near the 3200 block of Randolph Street about 3:15 p.m. Sunday. One officer ran south through an alley to investigate. There, he saw two men firing guns, police said. The officer ordered the men to drop their firearms. When they refused, the officer fired at them, striking both, police said.

LAST SUMMER downashore, all we did was talk about Sandy. This year, beachgoers are back to talking about sand itself. And surf. And sun. And all those local seaside occasions worth planning your weeklong vacation around: Ocean City's Night in Venice, Cape May's block party Seafood Festival, A.C.'s Airshow. So. Have at it. Bring the kids. Join the crowds. Get a little sand in your shoes. Strawberry Festival, West Cape May, June 7. The Shore town is best at feting the fruits (and veggies)

For Helen Clowney, working with and serving the neighbors on her neatly kept, tree-lined block in North Philadelphia has been a labor of love - one that has endured a half-century. Looking out on the cherry blossoms that brighten the 2200 block of North Woodstock Street, Clowney speaks with pride of the street where she has lived her entire life and served as a block captain for 50 years. She is retiring this spring. "It's a family block. It's like family. We're very close," Clowney said Thursday.

Considering they had just lost a pivotal game by three goals and are now one more stinker from an untenable position in their playoff against New York, the Flyers were remarkably pleased with themselves after an abbreviated practice Wednesday. "We played a strong game," coach Craig Berube said. "Saying that, we didn't do enough. We didn't score goals. " Unfortunately for the Flyers, that is still how they decide the outcomes of these games, and merely possessing the puck, which they did much better in Game 3, is only part of the equation.

REPUTED MOB associate Ron Galati, whose auto-body shop has received more than $1 million from the City of Philadelphia for working on police cars and other city vehicles, is known for cozying up to cops by throwing block parties or repairing their personal vehicles at a discount. Over the summer, Galati's glad-handing extended to District Attorney Seth Williams, according to a source who attended a block party near Galati's home on Garnet Street in South Philly. "He was palling around with Galati," the party attendee said of Williams.

ALL YEAR long, Flyers defenseman Nick Grossmann has been among the league leaders in blocked shots, which is laudable given that a concussion caused him to miss the final 18 games last season. Most of the world would see this as somewhat insane. But to his teammates, particularly the goaltenders, Grossmann's eagerness to put himself in harm's way elicits admiration. "There was one instance this year," goalie Steve Mason recalled, "he made three blocks in a row and I told him afterward, 'I might as well get off the ice, because you don't need me out here.' " Grossmann said the Flyers' missing the 2013 playoffs was a personal blessing because the loooong summer allowed him to rest and recover.